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Standing shoulder-to-shoulder on the edge of a picturesque Nova Scotia cove, thousands of roaring fans watched the sun melt into a sky brushed with amber and blue, eagerly awaiting rocker Matt Mays to strike his first chord.
The outdoor festival took place just outside The Shore Club, a historic music venue and lobster supper hall in the tiny community of Hubbards that has endured for 90 years and draws visitors from across the globe.
After playing inside the wooden building every summer for decades, Mays admitted he initially worried whether its signature “magic” would follow him outdoors. It did.
“It’s one of those places on earth that all the vibes are,” Mays said in a new CBC documentary about the club.
“It’s a very spiritual event for myself … and if it’s spiritual, that means it’s just bigger than anything.”
The outdoor shows at the Shore Club represent yet another evolution in the story of how a quaint venue in a rural South Shore hamlet at the end of a winding road became a world famous Maritime institution.
For more than 80 years, The Shore Club in Hubbards, N.S., has served up classic lobster suppers and legendary live music to fans worldwide. In a new CBC documentary, Aly Thomson and Dave Irish show how the Harnish family turned a rural dance hall into a Maritime icon.
Each summer, the family-run business draws thousands to its classic lobster suppers, electric concerts, camping under lofty pines and basking on its private beach.
The venue has gained a reputation among big Canadian artists and music fans for its distinct atmosphere and long-standing traditions.
Its unique Maritime esthetic has drawn the likes of Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders, Mariah Carey, and Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
But the club is always evolving, while staying true to its roots. It’s a balancing act the Harnish family, which operates the club, has done for nine decades.
Still, its allure isn’t something they can put their finger on.
“At any given night in this room, we’ll have people from almost every continent on earth in here…. You realize this is a really unique and fun and amazing place to be,” said Luke Harnish, sitting in the club’s dining hall and dance floor next to his father, Rhys Harnish.
“Dad and I looked at each other dumbfounded many times this summer, just like, why does this work?”
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